Victoria papers, by Lord MILTON, with thirteen horses. The difficulties of the Rocky Mountains have, in great part, melted away, and the "impossibilities" of the overland route have vanished, just as the "uninhabitable deserts and swamps" of the Saskatchewan have given place to boundless fertile prairies, which will probably become-even in our generation-the seat of an enterprising and prosperous people. VIII.—Comparison between British and United States Routes across the Continent. Not only is the track of the Canadian emigrants suggestive as to the nature of the country they traversed so easily, but in comparison with the explored routes for a Pacific railway within the limits of the United States it assumes a new importance. The present President of the Southern States, when Mr. Secretary DAVIS, summed up the comparisons of the different routes in the United States, as regards the character of the country they traverse. The following is an abbreviation of the summary : Route near the 47th and 49th parallels, from St. Paul to Number of miles through arable land.. ... Number of miles through land generally uncultivable, arable ..... The greatest number of miles of route through arable land on any one of the lines surveyed is 670 miles, in a distance of 2,290 miles. The least number of miles of route through generally uncultivable soil is 1,210, on a line of 1,618 miles in length, near the 32nd parallel. From the Lake of the Woods, or from Pembina, a line in British territory instead of passing through a desert incapable of supporting human life, would traverse a fertile belt of country, averaging 100 miles in breadth, fully able to sustain five times as many people as Canada now possesses, and leading directly towards the lowest and by far the most facile pass in the Rocky Mountains. The arid region of the Missouri valley commences west of the 100th degree of longitude divides the United States into two nearly equal parts on the 40th parallel of latitude. The eastern half is the present fertile and peopled part of the country. The western half is a comparative desert all the way to the Pacific.* It is in comparison with this immense The cause of the aridity and unfitness for settlement of fully one third of the United States has been ably discussed by distinguished meteorologists. This remarkable feature, extending over a portion of the American continent within the limits of the United States of more than 1,000,000 square miles in area, is highly important in relation to the valley of the south branch of the Saskatchewan, to a large part of which the same peculiarity belongs. The physical geography of the arid region in the United States has been very admirably described by Dr. JOSEPH HENRY.* * "Meteorology in its Connection with Agriculture," by Professor JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. desert that the fertile belt at the edge of the woods, stretching in the Saskatchewan valley from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, stands out in such surprising contrast. The cause of this exceptional character is, in great part, due to the drift deposits which cover the fertile belt. There is, therefore, a geological as well as a climatological reason. Sixty thousand square miles of arable land in Central British America mark out the true pathway across the Continent, which alone is capable of sustaining an efficient means of communication, whether in the form of a stage road or ultimately of a railway, by the growth of a local population. But the favorable comparison does not rest here. The mountain region, which offers such a difficult barrier to communication between the Pacific and the valley of the Mississippi, possesses peculiarities in British America which are in themselves of a very striking character, and quite sufficient to establish the line of route, cutting diagonally the 50th, 51st, 52nd and 53rd parallels, as far superior in point of physical conformation "The general character of the soil between the Mississippi river and the Atlantic is that of great fertility, and as a whole, in its natural condition, with some exceptions at the west, is well supplied with timber. The portion also on the western side of the Mississippi, as far as the 98th meridian, including the States of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, and portions of the territory of Kansas and Nebraska, are fertile, though abounding in prairies and subject occasionally to droughts. But the whole space to the west, between the 98th meridian and the Rocky Mountains, denominated the Great American plains, is a barren waste over which the eye may roam to the extent of the visible horizon with scarcely an object to break the monotony. "From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, with the exception of the rich but narrow belt along the ocean, the country may also be considered, in comparison with other portions of the United States, a wilderness unfitted for the uses of the husbandman; although in some of the mountain valleys, as at Salt Lake, by means of irrigation, a precarious supply of food may be obtained sufficient to sustain a considerable population, provided they can be induced to submit to privations from which American citizens generally would shrink. The portions of the mountain system further south are equally inhospitable, though they have been represented to be of a different character. In traversing this region, whole days are frequently passed without meeting a rivulet or spring of water to slake the thirst of the weary traveler. "We have stated that the entire region west of the 98th degree of west longitude, with the exception of a small portion of Western Texas and the narrow border along the Pacific, is a country of comparatively little value to the agriculturist; and, perhaps, it will astonish the reader if we direct his attention to the fact that this line, which passes southward from Lake Winnipeg to the Gulf of Mexico, will divide the whole surface of the United States into two nearly equal parts. This statement. when fully appreciated, will serve to dissipate some of the dreams which have been considered as realities as to the destiny of the western part of the North American continent. Truth, however, transcends even the laudable feelings of pride of country; and in order properly to direct the policy of this great confederacy, it is necessary to be well acquainted with the theatre on which its future history is to be enacted, and by whose character it will mainly be shaped." to any other lines of route which have been explored in British America or the United States.* The candid opinion of Professor JOSEPH HENRY regarding the adaptation of a large portion of the United States for settlement is confirmed and strengthened by the following excellent summary, from the pen of Major EMORY of the United States and Mexican Boundary Commission. It will at once occur to the reader that a knowledge of these facts gives great additional value to the truly fertile valleys of Red River, the Assinniboine, part of the Qu'appelle, and portions of the south and north branches of the Saskatchewan. It determines also the direction in which efforts should be made to people this great wilderness, and guide the progress of settlement in such a manner as will render the country available for that grand desideratum, a route across the Continent: "In the fanciful and exaggerated description given by many of the character of the western half of the Continent, some have no doubt been influenced by a desire to favor particular routes of travel for the emigrants to follow; others by a desire to commend themselves to the political favor of those interested in the settlement and sale of the lands; but much the greater portion by estimating the soil alone, which is generally good, without giving due weight to the infrequency of rains, or the absence of the necessary humidity in the atmosphere, to produce a profitable vegetation. But be the motive what it may, the influence has been equally unfortunate by directing legislation and the military occupation of the country, as if it were susceptible of continuous settlement from the peaks of the Alleghannies to the shores of the Pacific. "Hypothetical geography has proceeded far enough in the United States. In no country has it been carried to such an extent, or been attended with more disastrous * Table of comparison between the different passes in the Rocky Mountains, in the United States and in British territory, north of latitude 38°: United States Altitude of Pass. Surveyed route between the 38th and 39th parallels of latitude.. Kananaski Pass, from the South Saskatchewan to the Kootanie river... Kicking Horse Pass, from South Saskatchewan to the Columbia.. river.... "Old Columbia Trail," or Leather Pass, from the Athabaska to the Frazer-the Canadian emigrant route-probably below. S The breadth of country forming a continuous mountain region is far greater in the United States than in British America. The United States is crossed by three great systems of mountains, extending generally from north to south. The first system, beginning with the Sierra Madre, and terminating in the Black Hills of Nebraska territory, is partially gorged by the Rio Grande, completely cut through by the North Platte and the Sweet Water Rivers, and turned by the Missouri. It does not extend into British America. The total breadth of mountainous country, in the proper acceptation of the term, within the limits of the United States, varies from 500 to 900 miles. In British Columbia, the distance is not more than 380 miles from the Leather Portage to the Pacific, and the distance, in an air line from the Leather Portage to the extremity of Belhoula inlet, the possible terminus, of a route, does not exceed 400 miles. consequences. This pernicious system was commenced under the eminent auspices of Baron HUMBOLDT, who, from a few excursions into Mexico, attempted to figure the whole North American Continent. It has been followed by individuals to carry out objects of their own. In this way it has come to pass that, with no other evidence. than that furnished by a party of persons travelling on mule back, at the top of their speed, across the Continent, the opinion of the country has been held in suspense upon the subject of the proper route for a railway, and even a preference created in the public mind in favor of a route which actual survey has demonstrated to be the most impracticable of all the routes between the 49th and 32nd parallels of latitude. On the same kind of unsubstantial information, maps of the whole Continent have been produced and engraved in the highest style of art, and sent forth to receive the patronage of Congress, and the applanse of geographical societies at home and abroad, while the substantial contributors to accurate geography have seen their works pilfered and distorted, and themselves overlooked and forgotten. * * * The plains or basins which I have described as occurring in the mountain system, are not the great plains of North America which are referred to so often in the newspaper literature of the day, in the expressions, News from the Plains,' 'Indian Depredations on the Plains,' &c. "The term plains,' is applied to the extensive inclined surface reaching from the base of the Rocky Moutains to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the valley of the Mississippi, and form a feature in the geography of the western country as notable as any other. Except on the borders of the streams which traverse the plains in their course to the valley of the Mississippi, scarcely anything exists deserving the name of vegetation. The soil is composed of disintegrated rocks, covered by a loam an inch or two in thickness, which is composed of the exuviæ of animals and decayed vegetable matter. "The growth on them is principally a short but nutritious grass, called buffalo grass (Sysleria Dyctaloides) A narrow strip of alluvial soil, supporting a coarse grass and a few cotton wood trees, marks the line of the watercourses, which are themselves sufficiently few and far between. "Whatever may be said to the contrary, these plains west of the 100th meridian are who ly unsusceptible of sustaining an agricultural population, until you reach sufficiently far south to encounter the rains from the tropics. "The precise limits of these rains I am not prepared to give, but think the Red River (of Louisiana) is, perhaps, as far north as they extend. South of that river the plains are covered with grass of larger and more vigorous growth. That which is most widely spread over the face of the country is the grama or mezquite grass, of which there are many varieties. This is incomparably the most nutritious grass known."* IX.-Communication between Canada and Central British America. In Canada we are separated from the fertile part of Central British America by six degrees of longitude, which must be traversed before we can reach the edge of the fertile belt. This barrier has frequently been upheld as an insuperable objection to a practicable commercial communication between Canada and Central British America, in the absence of correct knowledge of the physical features of the country. The utmost length of the barrier which requires the construction of a road scarcely exceeds 200 miles. From its western extremity there is an unobstructed navigation, with but one break, to the edge of the fertile prairies of Central British America via Rainy River and the Lake of the Woods; and its eastern extremity is connected uninterruptedly with the sea by the great lakes and the St. Lawrence. The highest point over which the road from "Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, made under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior," by WILLIAM H. EMORY, Major First Cavalry and United States' Commissioner. Washington, 1846, pp. 43-47. Lake Superior to the northern indent of Rainy Lake must pass is not 900 feet above Lake Superior; and for the first 30 miles it would traverse a country susceptible of tillage for several miles on either side, and part of it already occupied by settlers, Then follows a sudden rise, marked by the great drift bank of Dog Lake, which forms the eastern limit of a driftcovered country stretching in a north-east and south west direction, and having a breadth of about 90 miles where the road would cross it. This accumulation of drift covers the height of land to a depth certainly exceeding 150 feet, as shown by the hills at the summit level at Prairie Portage, 885 feet above Lake Superior, and the highest point on the line of road. There are no serious physical impediments to overcome between Lake Superior and the northern indent of Rainy Lake, either for a waggon road or a railway; and this short link of 200 miles completed, the distance between Fort William on Lake Superior and the commencement of the arable prairies of the valley of Red River would be reduced to 200 miles of road or railroad, and 180 miles of steam navigation. Here, then, we see no formidable impediments, which an impression derived from the custom of traversing the country in canoes through the rocky channels of rapid rivers or hill-embosomed lakes had created in the minds of the few who have traversed that region;-impressions which have been too readily accepted by the public at a time when no particular commercial interests were at stake, except those of the fur trade, and when policy diametrically opposed to that now entertained by the existing Hudson's Bay Company was pursued with singular success by their predecessors. X.-Communication via Hudson's Bay. In contemplating the future of Central British America one important feature appears to be neglected, if not entirely overlooked. While Lake Winnipeg is 2,500 miles from the sea board of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and lies exactly in the centre of the American Continent under the 51st parallel, its northern extremity is only 380 miles from the tide waters of Hudson's Bay. The mouth of the Saskatchewan is as near to the open sea as Fort Garry is to the western extremity of Lake Superior. The passage from Norway House, at the northern extremity of Lake Winnipeg, to Hudson's Bay is made in nine days with loaded boats. It is not unreasonable to suppose that by the introduction of tramways over the portages the journey may be made in four days, thus bringing Lake Winnipeg within four days of the sea, yet the nature of the communication now followed is such that it would not admit of vessels much larger than freighters' boats being employed. The navigation of Hudson's Bay for sailing vessels is safe for a period not exceeding six weeks-for steamers it may be double that time. Hitherto the mode of communication adopted by the fur traders between Norway House and Hudson's Bay has been sufficient for the exigencies of the fur trade; it is not at all improbable that more easy means of communication with the sea board exists than those which are now pursued. Under any circumstances it is a fact of the highest importance that Lake Winnipeg is actually within a week's journey of the ocean, over a natural road by which troops have already entered and departed from Central British America. It is more than probable that whenever the necessity arises, the communication between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson's Bay, |